Process for preparing organo-arsenic derivatives of polystyrene and related polymers

A process for the preparation of a polystyrene in which at least one recurring unit has the formula:

• ##STR27## which process comprises reacting a mixture of:
• (a) a polystyrene in which at least one benzene nucleus contains a halosubstituent selected from the class consisting of chloro, bromo and iodo;
• (b) at least one molar proportion, for each halogenated benzene nucleus in said polystyrene, of an arsenic compound selected from the group consisting of arsenic trichloride, arsenic tribromide and arsenic trioxide;
• and
• (c) at least 3 molar proportions, for each halogenated benzene nucleus in said polystyrene, of an aryl halide selected from the class consisting of aryl chlorides, aryl bromides and aryl iodides;
• in the presence of
• (d) at least a stoichiometric proportion, based on the proportion of component (c), of a metal selected from the class consisting of sodium, lithium and magnesium.

A process for the preparation of a polystyrene in which at least one recurring unit has the formula:

• ##STR29## which process comprises reacting, in the presence of an inert organic solvent, a mixture of
• a polystyrene in which at least one benzene nucleus is substituted by bromo;
• at least one mole, per equivalent of bromine in said polystyrene, of arsenic trichloride;
• at least 3 moles, per equivalent of bromine in said polystyrene, of bromobenzene;
• and
• at least a stoichiometric proportion, based on the proportion of bromobenzene, of metallic lithium.

A process for the preparation of a polystyrene having in its molecule at least one unit havig the formula:

• ##STR30## wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl, C.sub.n H.sub.2n represents lower-alkylene, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are independently selected from the group consisting of aryl and lower-alkyl and x is 0 or 1, and the remainder of the recurring units in said polymer have the formula:
• ##STR31## wherein R is as above defined;
• which process comprises reacting a mixture of
• (a) the corresponding polymer having in its molecule at least one unit represented by the formula:
• ##STR32## wherein R has the meaning above defined and X is selected from the group consisting of chlorine, bromine, iodine, lower-chloroalkyl, lower-bromoalkyl and lower-iodoalkyl, the remainder of the recurring units in said polymer having the formula (II) above;
• (b) at least one molar proportion, per unit of formula (III) in said starting polymer, of an arsenic compound selected from the group consisting of arsenic trichloride, arsenic tribromide and arsenic trioxide;
• and
• (c) at least three molar proportions, per unit of formula (III) in said starting polymer, of a hydrocarbyllithium selected from the class consisting of lower-alkyllithium and aryllithium.